1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to sunshades and more particularly to a freestanding self-erecting shade device that is collapsible for convenient transport and storage.
2. Description of the Related Art
Collapsible sunshades for chairs have been the subjects of previous patents. For example, in US 20003/0106577 A1 published Jun. 12, 2003 to Martinez teaches a collapsible sunshade for a chair. The shade is provided in the form of a flexible ring made of spring steel or other spring material. A fine mesh membrane or fabric material is attached to and disposed within the ring. The ring may be moved between an open position for providing shade and a closed position under spring tension for collapsing the shade. The opened shade can be bent and affixed to a chair to cover at least a portion of the seat of the chair. In one form of the Martinez shade, opposite ends of the erected shade are affixed to the arms of the chair to cover the seat portion of the chair. Another version of the Martinez shade has a narrow rear end and a wide front end. The narrow end is affixed to a support band on the back of the chair by fasteners. Cords are provided on the wide end to cinch to the chair so that the shade is bent towards the front of the chair over the seat of the chair in a position permitting a user to sit in the chair. A small fabric pocket may be attached to the shades for carrying small items and a flap or screen is provided in central portion of the shades to allow wind to pass through.
In FIGS. 23-28 of U.S. Pat. No. 6,698,827 B2 issued Mar. 2, 2004 to Le Gette et al., collapsible shades similar in design to the Martinez shade. Gette et al., however, places the ventilation opening on the narrow rear portion of the shades and includes a carry bag for the collapsed shade. The flaps extend away from the perimeter of the flexible band frame and provided with cord and fasteners for securing the shade to the chair. The flaps also provide additional shading.
In Patent Application Publication Number US 2002/0112752 A1 published Aug. 22, 2002 to Blakney a rigid folding canopy frame is supported in a chair bag mounted over the back of the chair. The chair bag includes a fabric pouch stitched thereon. A set of interchangeable canopies including a sunshade hemmed above the line of sight of a person sitting underneath it, a mosquito net of dark mosquito netting and a photography or changing blind having a hole in the line of sight of a person sitting in the chair.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a self-erecting and collapsible shade device solving the aforementioned problems is desired.